Loop forming mechanism for straight knitting machines



May 11, 1937.- AIBAY ET AL 2,080,353

LOOP FORMING MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 2, 19352 Sheets-Sheet 1 Adolfi gi By flux/1.5 mug May 11, 1937. A. BAY ET A2,030,353

LOOP F ORMINGMECI IANISM FOR STRAIGHT KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 2,1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fla-,7; F112- .51.

0 3 1:0 .5 a 6 1 g s o -e "4 /fi 3 2W 1 I i; In. 15 mlmmmw 15IUl"I"Mmummnullhi" Z N I n Z9 32 '15 56 J5 Fl 5- E r u%////-/////A 3 4-52 555% T Ado/$2955 i BY M Sabina Patented May 11, 1937 LOOP FORMINGMECHANISM Fort STRAIGHT KNITTING memes Adolf Bay, Lincoln Park, and PaulSchmidt,

Wyomissing, Pa., assignors to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa., a,corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 2, 1935, Serial No. 19,340

13 Claims. (Cl. 66110) This invention relates to full fashionedknitnovel structure for controlling the forward moveting machines andmore particularly to a new ment of the slnkers and dividers by'meanssuband improved verge plate. for use with the loopstantially unaffectedby constant use thereby forming mechanism. or sinker-head assembly ofpreventing the usual variations in the loop strucmachines of this type.ture of the fabric due to uneven wear in the d It is well known that thesinkers, dividers and sinker and divider control mechanism.

needles of a full fashioned knitting machine It is also an object of theinvention to render function cooperatively to form the loop strucudevice Simple and durable in oonstlilotlon, ture of the fabric knittedthereon. Also that the economical to manufacture and effective in itsuniformity of the loop lengths and in turn the ope at on. evenness ofthe finished fabric depends largely With these and other objects inview, which upon the operation of the sinkers which sink the w e omeappar t from the following detailed desired length of yarn betweenalternate pairs of description of the illustrative embodiment of theneedles, invention shown in the accompanying drawings,

5 To each sinker head of full fashioned knit- .theinvention resides inthe novelelements, feal5 ting machines is secured a verge plate orfolding res f con on n per i n f p r as bar for terminating the forwardtravel of the hereinafter more pa tic P d o t in the sinkers and thedividers on the same horizontal claims. line for the .purpose ofeffecting loops of equal In the drawings:

length across the desired extent of the knitting Figure 1 is a plan Viewo a Sinker d of a 9 field. In the operation of the knitting machine ufashioned knitting e, w the invenwith the ordinary verge plate, theimpact of the tion opcratively positioned t e on; sinkers upon suchplate causes the mechanism to Fig? is a op P an ew f a Verge P ate 01vibrate, whereupon the sinkerstend to rebound uoted in accordance einvention; or fly back, and this inexpedient action fre- Fig. 3 isasectional view ta en substantially on quently results in the breakingof needles and the the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

production of imperfect fabric. The usual verge Fig. 4 is a view similarto Fi 2 of a modified plate, being of solid metallic construction,transrm of the n e t mits the impact of the sinkers thereon directly to5 S a tto P a ew of the device shown the sinker head and thus furtherenhances the in Fi 0 rebound of the sinkers, which are slidably' Fig. 6is an enlarged sectional w of a Portion 3 mounted in thesinker head. Theincessant of a sinker head having the verge plate shown in pounding ofthe sinkers on the usual non-resili- Flgs- 4 nd 5 Secured the eto;

"ent verge plate of the sinker head unit slowly' F1817 is a sectionalview of certainof the loop forms grooves therein, and since said wear isforming mechanism of a u fashioned tt 5 notuniform the loops in certainwales become m ne of w h e invention o s an i length'ened, subsequentlyforming sinker lines grol P which in turn affect the appearance anddecrease 8 8 and 9 e ews slmllal'to Fig! Showthe value of the finishedproduct, ing successive steps in the operation of the loop 4 An objectof the invention is to produce a novel for i g mechanism; 40

verge. plate construction for the sinker head Fie- 10 is an ge e ta y Vw. P units of full fashioned knitting machines and one tially insection; of ce tain o e members P which has been especially designed toovercome tioned as illustrated in Fig. a the rbjections set forth above.Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 6, illustrating A further object is toprovide a metallic verge another modified form of the invention. platefor the sinker head units of full fashioned The figures disclose variousparts of a Readknitting machines constructed so as to confine ing" fullfashioned knitting machine embodying the effect of sinker-shocks. themechanism and elements of the invention. A still further object istoprovide a perforated For the sake of clearness only those parts of theverge plate including a non-metallic sinker-abut- -various mechanismshave been illustrated which 50 ting edge for cushioning the'impact ofthesinkare necessary for an understanding of the in ers thereon.vention; the various other parts and mechanisms Still another object isto improve the loop formand their manner of operation are well known in--ing mechanism of full fashioned knitting mathe art, and are shown anddescribed in detail chines, and more particularly by providing a in theReading Full'Fashioned Knitting Ma- 55 =50 tween adjacent pairs 'ofneedles.

chine Catalogue (copyright 1929) published by the Textile Machine Works,Reading, Pennsylvania.

Operation of the separate mechanisms of a full 5 fashioned knittirigmachine of conventional type is effected through means of a series ofcam elements carried by a central rotating cam shaft. The motion of eachcam is transmitted to its respective mechanism through means of a camfollower element and associated linkage. The cam shaft is axiallyshiftable for the purpose of moving one set of cams out of operativeengagement with the respective camfollower elements coincident with theoperative positioning of a second series whereby the cycle of operationsof the separate mechanisms may be changed as for instance is necessarywhen changing from plain knitting to fashioning and vice versa.

Included in the loop-forming mechanisms of machines of the type setforth, are, a needle Ill,

a sinker head l2, Fig. 1, and a jack bed l3 which are operativelypositioned as illustrated inFigs. 7, 8 and 9, and which functionunitedly in well known manner to, effect the desired loop forma-' tion.The sinker head l2 and the jack bed [3 are secured to a center bed l4which extends "across the length of the machine. A needle bar ii, towhich the needles ID are secured in spaced parallel relationship, byaclamp member 16, is

operated in well known manner to move the needles it) through theirloop-forming cycle. Sinkers l1 and dividers l6 which are slidablymounted in suitable grooves formed in the base I! and top 20 of thesinker head |2,in'turn spacedly positioned relative to each other byspacer elements 22. coact with the needles to eifect the desired loopformation. Although the pitch of the sinker head grooves is identical tothat of the needle positioning grooves, the sinker head 12 is sopositioned on the center bed l4 as to guide-the sinkers and dividersbetween the I needles Ill, and support them in a plane substantiallyperpendicular to that of the needles in manner well known in the art.

' cam 21 which is operated by the couliering mechanism (not shown) inwell known manner. The jacks 26 are pivotally supported upon an axle 28carried by a seriesof spacer members or jack combs 29 which are clampedto the jack bed I3 by a clamp bar and which function to hold the jacks26 in the same pitch relationship as the sinkers l1, and thereby ensurealignment between said members. Theforward movement of the Jacks 26 isterminated by the sinkers II when the latter abut the verge plate 30,whereas the rearward movement is controlled by an upper comb guide 33,Fig. 7. Replacement of jacks may be effected upon removal of the stopbar 34.

A series of spring elements 35, respectively aligned with the jacks 26,areheld by a clamp 36 in clamped relationship with a slotted spring bed31 which is pivotally supported by suitable bearings 38, extending fromthe jack bed H, which cooperate with trunnions extending from opposite iends of the spring bed 31, Fig. 8. The springs 35 Following the feedingof yarn to the needles I 0 exercise a biasing action upon the jacks 26,in the manner illustrated, to prevent inoperative movements thereof. Abracket 3| secured to the spring bed 31 and operable through means of acontrol rod 39 provides means for controlling the operation of thespring bed 31.

Following the sinking of the yarn between adjacent pairs of needlesacross the entire knitting field, all of the dividers II are advanced asa unit by a catch bar 40 to the position'shown in Fig. 9, therebysinking the yarn between the remaining needles. Coincident with thesubsequent downward travel of the needles III, the sinkers l1 and thedividers l8 are retracted as one group by the catch bar 40 while thenewly formed stitches are interlooped with the loops or stitches of thelast previously knitted course. Prior to the upward travel of theneedles, the sinkers and dividers are simultaneously advanced to holdthe newly formed loops thereunder in preparation for the couliering ofanother course of loops. ever, before the yarn is again fed to theneedles, the sinkers and dividers are again simultaneously retracted tothe position shown in Fig. '7, when the catch bar 40'is raised out ofoperative engagement with the sinkers ll substantially as illus- How-'trated therein, whereupon the knitting of the fabric is continued inthemanner set forth.

The verge plates have heretofore customarily been made of solid metal,consequently when the sinkers were previously slurred into engagementtherewith by the slur cam 21, the abutting of metal upon metalinvariably resulted in the rebounding. of the sinkers and the subsequentirregular formation of loops regardless of the biasing action of thejack springs 35 on the jacks 26; for although the spring 35 eventuallyforced the sinkers I'I, through means of the intermediate jacks 26, intocontact with the verge plate, nevertheless the correct positioningthereof was heretofore accomplished only following a rebounding andvibratory movement of the sinkers I! which consequently effected avariation in the lengths of the loops and resulted in the production offabric of imperfect texture.

The incessant pounding of the sinkers against the metallic edge of theverge plate likewise resulted in the wearing away of the contactingsurfaces of the sinkers and of the verge plate, with most wear beingcentered on the verge plate which is ordinarily of a softer metal. Theimpact of the sinkers on the verge plate is likewise ordinarilytransmitted to the sinker head l2 to whichit is anchored, therebyvibrating the center bed l4 and finally distributing the shock to theentire knitting machine.

However, in accordance with the present invention, substantially all ofthe shock heretofore occasioned is now absorbed by "the verge plate, andis isolated from the sinker head and the remainder of the machinethrough means of the novel construction shown. In the improved vergeplate 25 and 30, I provide .a multiplicity of longitudinal slots 43arranged in overlapping relationship to each other and in spacedparallel relationship to the'sinker abutting edge 46, Figs.

,' 2 and 4. The slots 43 preferably extend through the plates 25 and 30,see Fig.3, thereby effecting ashock-absorbing structur' which willreduce the impact of the sinkers on the verge plate and correspondinglyreduce the vibrating of the sinker ting structure 42 and the slots 43,is spaced above the supporting bar 20 for the purpose of preventing thetransmission of sinker shock to the sinker head l2, which lattercondition exists where the shock-absorbing zone is held in contact withthe top 20 of the sinker head i2. The elevating of the shock-absorbingzone above the sinker head top 20 and out of contact therewith throughmeans of a clearance area 48, permits absorption of the sinker shock bythe slots 43 before any part thereof is transmitted to the sinker head,inasmuch as the shock-absorbing zone is spacedly positioned thereabove,Fig. 6, whereas the heavy portion of the verge plate is held in clampedrelationship with the top 20 by means of the screws 41. Thus, it willreadily be understood that all vibratory movements of the verge plate25, as produced by the abutting of the sinkers and dividersthereagainst, will be confined to-and absorbed by that portion of theplate adjacent the clearance area 48 before reaching the portion of theplate in contact with'the top piece 20.

It follows that in a verge plate or folding bar, constructed inaccordance with my invention, substantially all shock and vibratoryinfluences arising upon abutment of the'sinkers upon the verge platewill be transmitted through the bar to the barrier structure orshock-absorbing zone composed of the perforated portions 43, and willthere be absorbed and terminated in the manner necessary to isolate saidshock and vibratory influences from the sinker head and the remainder ofthe knitting machine. means of this structure the'shock and vibratoryactions of the sinkers and-dividers are appreciably reduced and a fabricof substantially uniform loop structure results.

In the verge plates 25, 30 and 52, it will be observed that a cushioningelement 42, preferably of a fibrous phenol condensate composition, formsthe sinker abutting edge. The strip element 42 through its inherentresiliency, in addition to reducing the force of impact of the sinkerson the verge plate, supplements the cushioning action of thebarrierstructure 43 and is likewise more durable inasmuch as it is notas susceptible to wear as the metallic edge verge plates. Although theremovable edge 42 may be formed of numerous materials while stilleffecting the desired results and remaining within the scope of myinvention, it has been found that a fibrous phenol condensatecomposition is particularly adapted for use in connection with a vergeplate.

In effecting the novel edge construction for verge plates and the like,a tongue 44 of the preformed strip 42 is preferably secured in a 1ongitudinal groove 45, formed in a longitudinal edge of the verge plates25, 30 and 52, by pressing an open end of the groove 45 upon the strip42 after the latter has been positioned as shown,

in Fig. 10. Following the insertion of the preformed edge into the vergeplate, the face 46 is machined to a straight surface and bevelled to thedesired angle in the manner necessary to coact with the sinker backs 2|,in the manner shown in Fig. 10, for limiting the forward movement of allof the sinkers H to the same extent of travel thereby producing loops ofuniform length across the entire knitting field. This Likewise, throughcombination, of a detachable non-metallic edge member with a metallicsupporting bar, prevents warping of the detachable member and permitsthe use of materials, such for instance as phenol condensatecompositions, which are ordinarily unusable in verge plates and the likebecause of the difficulty in maintaining a straight edge structure.

It will be readily understood that the cushioning action and the barrierstructure effected by the slots 43 and the clearance structure 48 makesit particularly desirable for use in the sinker head construction of afull fashioned knitting machine; whereas the supplemental cushioningaction and durability of a preformed insert 42, of the type disclosed,coupled with the resilient and shock absorbing features thereof,appreciably lengthens the life of a verge plate, effects a smootheroperation of the loop forming elements and in turn aids in theproduction of a knitted fabric of substantially uniform texture, therebymaking a device of this construction particularly desirable for use inconnection with a full fashioned knitting machine. J

In the verge plate 52 secured to the sinker head top 20 by the screws41, Fig. 11, the desired shock absorbing action is effected by means ofa corrugated section, comprising a series of Iongitudinal grooves 53 and54 respectively formed in the under and upper surfaces thereof inparallel relationship with the edge structure 42; whereas, isolation ofshock fromthe sinker head top 20 is attained by providing a clearancearea 48 intermediate the edge structure and the sinker head top 20substantially as indicated in Fig. 11.

' of the sinkers, anchorage means for securing the plate to the sinkerhead, and a series of perforated sections in said platearranged inspaced overlapping relationship intermediate the rearward edge and saidanchorage means for cushioning the impact of the sinkers on said plateand isolating the impact from. the sinker head.

2. A sinker head assembly for straight knitting machines comprising, aseries of reciprocable sinkers, a verge plate for limiting the forwardtravel of said sinkers, means for anchoring the verge plate to thesinker head; said verge plate having a resilient straight edgeconstruction for receiving and cushioning the impact of said sinkers,and a plurality of parallel perforated areas arranged in staggeredrelationship intermediate the edge construction and anchorage means forsupplementing the cushioning action of said edge construction andpreventing the shock occasioned by the impact of the sinkers on theverge plate from being transmitted to the sinker head.

3. A verge plate for knitting machines comprising an elongated plate, adetachable operat-. ing edge thereon, and said plate having a series ofperforated overlapping shock absorbing areas adjacent to and parallelwith said operating edge.

4. In a straight knitting machine, loop-forming mechanism comprising aseries of reciprocable elements, a plate having a detachable edgeadapted to engage said reciprocable elements to limit the loop-formingtravel thereof, and means including a series of adjacent spaced openingsextending through the plate and arranged in over-- lapping relationshipsorbing area.

5. Loop-formingmechanisrn for straight knitting machines comprising incombination, a sinker head, a series of loop-forming elements reciprotoconstitute a shock ab- .cably mounted therein, a verge plate having adetachable straight edge portion for terminating the forward travel ofsaid loop-forming elements,

and a plurality of longitudinal perforated areas sinker head, a seriesof needles, a series of re-' ciprocable members in said sinker head forcoact ing with said needles for forming loops, a plate carried by thesinker head including a straight edge portion for terminating theforward travel of the reciprocable members, a series of overlappingperforated areas in said plate, spaced in parallel relationshipwith'said edge portion, said edge portion comprising a detachable stripmember for receiving the impact of the reciprocable members.

'7. A sinker head for full fashioned knitting machines, comprising incombination, a series of reciprocable loop-forming elements, a platesecured to the sinker head for terminating the forward travel of thereciprocable elements, said plate including a preformed rearward'edgefor controlling the forward travel of said loop-forming elements, and aseries of perforated areas in said plate, parallel to and spaced inoverlapping relationship to said rearward edge, for cushioning theimpact'of the-reciprocable loop-forming elements.

8. In a sinker head assembly for straight knitting machines, a series ofreciprocable sinkers, averge plate for limiting the forward travel ofthe sinkers, means for securing the verge plate to said sinker head, alongitudinal preformed edge construction on said verge plate forreceiving and cushioning the impact of the sinkers, and

a series of overlapping perforated areas in said verge plate spaced inparallel relationship with said edge construction between said edge andsaid 5 securing means for supplementing. the cushioning action of saidpreformed edge and preventing the transmission of said impact to thesinker head.

.9. A verge plate for knitting machines comprising an elongated plate,an operating edge thereon, said plate having a series of perforatedoverlapping shock absorbing areas adjacent to and parallel with saidoperating edge and having a relieved portion in its bottom surfaceextending from said shock absorbing areas to said operating edge.

10. The combination in a full fashioned knitting machine comprising asinker head, a series of sinkers reciprocably mounted in said sinkerhead, a plate member of substantially uniform thickness throughouthaving a rearward edge for limiting the forward travel of the sinkers,and anchorage means for securing the plate to the sinker head, of aperforated area in said plate spaced from the sinker head intermediatethe rearward edge and said anchorage means for ab sorbing the impact ofthe sinkers on said plate and isolating said impact from the sinkerhead.

11. A sinker head for full fashioned knitting machines comprising thecombination of a series of sinkers'reciprocably mounted in said sinkerhead, a plate member of substantially uniform thickness throughouthaving a forward portion anchored to said sinker head and a rearwardportion spaced from the sinker head in overlapping relationship thereto,said rearward portion comprising a sinker-abutting edge and a perforatedarea adjacent thereto for absorbing the impact of the sinkers on saidedge and isolating said impact from the sinker head.

12. A verge plate for knitting machines comprising an elongated plate,an anchorage portion adjacent one longitudinal edge, an abutting surfaceadjacent the other longitudinal edge, said plate having a series oflongitudinally extending slots arranged in overlapping relationshipadjacent said abutting surface and having a relieved portion in itsbottom surface adjacent said abutting surface and said slots.

13. A"sinker head for full fashioned knitting machines comprising thecom ation of a series of sinkers reciprocably moun d in said sinkerhead, aplate member having a forward portion anchored to said sinkerhead and a rearward portion spaced from the sinker head in paralleloverlapping relationship to the upper surface thereof, said rearwardportion comprising a sinker-abut- .ting edge, and a corrugated areaadjacent thereto for absorbing the impact of the sinkers on said edge; e

ADOLF BAY.

PAUL scrmmir.

